The 53rd edition of the International Bursa Festival in the northwestern city of Bursa will open next week with a grand project dedicated to late Greek poet Constantine Cavafy, “The Kavafis Project.”

Greek singer George Dalaras will perform the poems of Cavafy, with music composed by Alexandros Karozas, while Turkish comedian-artist Okan Bayülgen will recite them at the festival opening on June 10, the Cihan news agency reported on Friday. The Bursa State Symphony Orchestra and the State Polyphonic Choir will accompany Dalaras and Bayülgen during the gala ceremony at the Kültürpark Open-Air Theater.

Set to run until July 4, the first part of the festival will feature the Samsun State Opera and Ballet and performers from the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TÜRKSOY) staging their rendition of Kazakh composer Mukan Tölebayev's opera “Birjan and Sara” on June 16 at the Merinos Atatürk Culture and Congress Center (AKKM).

Another opera performance will be presented by the İzmir State Opera and Ballet at the AKKM, where the company will stage “Muhteşem Süleyman” (Suleiman the Magnificent), the first major Turkish opera piece on the life of the 10th and longest-reigning Ottoman sultan, on June 21, marking the opera's first performance in Bursa.

One of the festival highlights will be a concert performance by Latin Grammy-winner flamenco guitarist José Fernández Torres, also known as Tomatito, who will take to the stage on June 25 at the open air theater. Turkish singers Yavuz Bingöl and Öykü Gürman will share the stage with him.

An admission-free concert featuring music themed around Venezuela's independence from Spain will take place on June 30 in front of the Bursa City Museum. A joint effort between the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Ankara and the Consulate General of Venezuela in İstanbul, the concert will see a performance by Orlando Poleo.

The start of the Golden Karagöz International Folk Dance Competition on June 7 will kick off the second part of the festival. A total of 25 dance companies from around the world will be in the running for the 28th edition of the contest, which will conclude on June 12.